Review – Cities and Thrones

Cities and Thrones is a solid follow-up to The Buried Life, expanding the world and giving us a glimpse of the politics at work both in the other cities and the things that motivate the key players of Recoletta. We get a few more glimpses into the Library, and how exactly the underground society of Recoletta came about. If you hadn’t worked it out already, well, this book also gives us more hints about the link between the state of society in Recoletta and the modern day. Some things are not unfamiliar or unusual concepts to us…

Malone continues to be an interesting character, loyal to her city and not bending to politicking. Oh, she’ll take part in an effort to bring the city stability, but ultimately she acts for the good of Recoletta, not to further anyone’s agenda. Not even her own, really: again and again she puts herself at risk. Meanwhile, Jane continues to be a pawn unsure of who exactly is moving her, fighting for autonomy and finding that she only succeeds in getting herself in deeper, and deeper again. I’m not sure about the thing between her and Roman, but I’m reassured by the ambivalence there; it’s certainly not a straightforward romance or an easy relationship.

The last chapter of the book raises the stakes again; I’m curious to see where this is going. I read this book in one go, quite literally in one sitting, and it’s definitely a worthy sequel.